Folk-art watercolor of two men grappling in front of a yellow curtain, with onlookers at left and a falling figure at right, framed by decorative columns.

Parable of the King and His Servants

A folk-art watercolor and pencil drawing with a yellow curtain and decorative columns. A broad-shouldered man in orange grapples with a kneeling man in red while onlookers stand at left and a figure falls at right. Flat, stylized forms and bright outlined colors give the scene a naive storybook quality.

Artist: Lawrence W. Ladd
Date: ca. 1880
Medium: watercolor and pencil on paper
Source: Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Size: 3000 × 2458 px

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Public domain · Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum) releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1885).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian American Art Museum

19th century folk art watercolor biblical scene figure group servant parable anger naive painting